The Internet has enabled computer users all over the world to interact and communicate electronically. For example, users can send and receive e-mail messages, view Web pages, download music, software, videos and perform many other activities.
Video data is particularly popular for transmission through the Internet. Popular video sharing Web sites such as YouTube, MetaCafe and the like enable users to upload user-created and other video content for sharing with viewers through the Internet.
Video content sharing websites are receiving increasing amounts of such video content for display. However, currently a user who wishes to view video content with another user at a remote location cannot easily have a completely shared experience. For example, if one user wishes to stop the video to examine a frame, to “rewind” (go backward in the stream) or “fast-forward” (go forward in the stream), the video content for that user may no longer be synchronized with that of the other user.
Other possible implementations for sharing data over a network, for various types of group activities, for example, for business, educational or other purposes, may include two or more parties editing data such as a movie, a text or multi-media document, one or more images, a presentation or any other digital data.
Synchronization of video data is not difficult for two devices which are in a physically similar location, as described for example in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0136769. In that application, one video device transmits video data to another video device in order to control synchronization. Although this type of sharing has been proposed for the Internet, it is clearly inefficient, since the video data is effectively transmitted from a server to a first computer and then from the first computer to a second computer.
International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2007/079334 describes another type of synchronized system, in which a host computer is connected to a plurality of client devices. However, the client devices are described as being dedicated video players, while the host computer is described as operating media software such as the iTunes® software of Apple Computer Inc. Such a system would be suitable in a house, for example, to allow a user to broadcast media on a private network. It does not solve the problem of allowing remote users to share and synchronize editing of digital content, such as video, through a network, such as the Internet.
Currently available solutions permit a user broadcasting shared data from a single computer to control the display of the shared data on a plurality of connected computers. However, coordinating simultaneous commands from multiple users to control and edit the shared data over a plurality of computers is not possible with currently available solutions, but only through the present invention.